Planting – Drilling – Furrow opener
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-28
2002-02-19
Batson, Victor (Department: 3671)
Planting
Drilling
Furrow opener
C111S195000, C111S170000, C172S559000, C172S538000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06347594
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1). Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an opener for a grain drill, planter or similar agricultural implement which deposits material such as seed or fertilizer in furrow and then closes the furrow.
2). Related Art
An opener arrangement for depositing seed or fertilizer in a furrow such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,806 Bigbee et al includes an angled disk having a depth control wheel adjacent the leading face of the disk and a seed boot assembly including a seed tube on the trailing side of the disk. The wheel provides depth adjustment, cleans the leading face of the disk, and limits soil lifting and throw adjacent the disk. One or more closing or press wheels trail the disk to move soil and close the furrow over the material deposited from the seed tube. Such openers limit soil disturbance, but often a portion of the seed.boot or runner operates soil just outside the trench which increases soil disturbance, power requirements, wear and seed placement inconsistencies. The leading side wheel axis is close to the disk hub so the wheel operates forwardly of the area where the disk exits the soil so soil lift at the exit point can be a problem, particularly when the operating depth of the disk is increased. If the boot rides outside the furrow, tracking problems are also increased. An opener arrangement with a seed boot that remains substantially in the shadow of the disk when viewed from the forward direction is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,130 Baugher. In most single disk arrangements, however, a portion of the boot, as viewed from the side of the opener, is outside the periphery of the disk and is subject to damage when objects such as rocks are encountered in the ground.
With some opener arrangements, residue frequently wedges between adjacent openers, between the boot and the opener disk hub or the disk, or between the disk and one of the trailing wheels. The trailing wheel increases the overall length of the opener and does not track well when the implement is turned from the forward direction. The rearward wheel location requires a longer and heavier support arm arrangement less responsive to rapid changes in ground contours.
A further problem exists when efforts to reduce the size of the seed boot so the boot is within in the shadow of the opener disk results in a narrowed lower portion on the material delivery tube, particularly when the disk angle is approximately five degrees or less. Maintaining a high material rate is particularly important for high speed operation, and the narrowed lower portion of the tube reduces the rate at which material can be delivered to the furrow. Further, material delivery uniformity as well as rate may also be adversely affected by use of delivery tubes such as shown in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,806 having other than a substantially vertical component. The problem of reduced delivery rate is further compounded when the tube is curved.
When an opener is depositing seeds in a furrow, placing the seeds at a constant depth is important for uniform germination and optimum plant growth. Often opener arrangements have closing or press wheels that trail the seed boot a substantial distance. The actual closing of the furrow occurs some time after the deposited material reaches the bottom of the furrow, and of the material has time to bounce from the bottom of the furrow and as a result the material is placed shallower than desired. At times, seeds can actually bounce completely out of the furrow so they lie on top of the ground and do not germinate. The trend toward higher speed planting and fertilizing for increased productivity increases the problem of material bounce and soil throw. Also, the seed boot runner in some presently available openers (see O of the prior art examples of
FIGS. 11 and 12
) can actually form a slight shelf or ridge (R) in the side of the furrow (F), especially when operating relatively deeply, and seed can lodge on the ridge rather than at the bottom of the furrow. A further problem arises when soil disturbed by the unwanted shelving or ridging process falls into the bottom of the furrow and affects seed placement.
Various seed bounce flaps or seed firming attachments such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,092,255; 5,673,638 and 5,918,557 have been made available to limit bounce or firm the material in the furrow, but these result in added components, expense and maintenance and sometimes fail to completely solve the problems caused by bounce and ridging. Some wheel structures can decrease trash clearance and be a source of blockages, particularly in fields having high trash content.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved opener assembly. It is a further object to provide such an opener assembly which overcomes most or all of the aforementioned problems.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved opener assembly particularly useful for high speed fertilizing or seeding operations. It is another object to provide such an assembly which is compact and has a narrow profile. It is a further object to provide such an assembly which reduces material bounce in the furrow.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved opener assembly which has a profile wherein the material placement boot or runner is located within the shadow of the opener disk when viewed in the forward direction and within the periphery of the disk when viewed from the side to provide protection against damage from objects in the field. It is another object to provide such an assembly having a narrow profile and improved placement characteristics without sacrificing high material throughput capabilities.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved opener assembly with a closing wheel arrangement which facilitates better material placement and higher speed operation than at least most previously available opener assemblies. It is another object to provide such an assembly that closes the furrow immediately after the material reaches the bottom of the furrow to eliminate bounce. It is yet another object to provide such an arrangement which closes the furrow from the top down and pushes the deposited material to the bottom of the furrow.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an opener with a closing wheel assembly which is compact, relatively light, and provides excellent trash clearing capabilities. It is another object to provide such an assembly which has a short support arm for compactness, good trailing characteristics and fast reaction time. It is yet another object to provide an opener with a closing system including a depth control and disk scraping wheel on one side of the disk cooperating with a closing wheel on the opposite side of the disk, both wheels located just behind an opener boot to close the furrow immediately after material is deposited in the furrow. It is still another object to provide such an opener which is less prone to blockages and which is ideally suited for narrow row spacings in high residue conditions.
It is another object of the invention to provide an improved opener assembly having a delivery tube arrangement with a high throughput for high speed operation. It is a further object to provide such an assembly which is compact and includes a unique compact hinge construction for biasing the delivery tube towards the furrow opening disk. It is yet another object to provide such an assembly having a high material throughput capability while maintaining the material delivery structure within the shadow of a single angled opener disk. It is another object to provide such an assembly which has an opener boot cross section which closely matches the cross section of the furrow formed by the opener disk to maximize material delivery output size and furrow wall holding capability while minimizing power requirements, soil disturbance and wear.
An opener assembly constructed in accordance with the teachings of the p
Ferguson Larry Patrick
Wendling Ignatz
Batson Victor
Deere & Company
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